525,600 Minutes
by imsuchanut
Summary: She's the badass girl with too much determination, and he's the annoying kid in her math class. College AU.


Her story starts on a Monday. It's September 1st –first day of classes, first day of college. It's a typical warm, sunny day at Stanford. The sun is shining, the students are tanning, and the classrooms have all their windows open. Cora Hale has lived in California her whole life; she's used to it. Septembers are just another extension of the summer. You know, except in classrooms.

She'd been waiting for this day, prepping and planning for years. But now that she's here, it's like nothing has changed. She wonders if something's wrong with her. Derek came home with stories about how college made him a new man. _The atmosphere_, he said. _The people. It's all different._ Cora felt exactly the same as she did when she packed up a week ago.

She slides into a seat and pulls out a pencil and her notebook, before shoving them back in her bag. First day, after all. No need to look too eager. Not that it really matters, anyways. But it was probably too late to be worried about that—a quick glance around the almost empty room shows her that she's definitely early. It had its perks though. After spending the night in a noisy dorm, and navigating through throngs of students on the way to class, she could use some silence.

The sound of students filtering in breaks her reverie, and Cora braces herself for the worst. Much to her relief, no one sits next to her. Awkward small chat isn't really her thing. It's not that she's antisocial (alright, maybe a little). She just prefers to hang around people that are worth her time.

The teacher turns out to be absolutely awful—his voice kind of sounds like that teacher in Charlie Brown, except it keeps talking about derivatives and crap. Math was boring enough in high school, thanks, she doesn't need calculus now. And definitely not for a history degree. Ironically though, the professor's been talking about the history of calculus for the past half hour.

A tapping noise from behind her grabs her attention and causes her to roll her eyes. Pencils against a desk—it's an absolutely annoying noise, typically used when someone is bored. She can't really blame the kid; even she's itching to get out of there. Except it hasn't stopped five minutes later (and neither has the professor's lecture), so Cora is really left with no choice.

She turns around to see a pale, skinny kid, with too many freckles and hair that looks like it's never met a brush. His eyes are trained on her in an unnerving way, and Cora almost forgets why she turned around. Almost. "Cut that out, will you?" The kid sitting next to him laughs before faltering under Cora's glare. Much to her relief, the tapping stops, and she's left to enjoy (sleep through) the rest of the lesson in peace.

The first day fades into the first week, which fades into the rest of the month seamlessly. Surprisingly, she befriends her roommate, Erica (who was surprisingly okay with the knife she kept in the room), and her boyfriend, Boyd (apparently they've known each other for years). Erica's sweet at first, which initially put her off, but turned out to be a real firecracker—always itching for action, which proves to be quite fun. They end up bonding over their love for horror films. Boyd is pretty quiet (which complements Erica's fondness for talking), but he'll join them in whatever they do, unless it's a scary movie marathon. Together the trio terrorize their floor, hit all of the food trucks, and drink too much on the roof of their dorm—all in the first week.

She becomes close with Isaac, although he doesn't really count since he's her brother's friend (they were in Boy Scouts or something together as kids), and she's known him for years. He's kind of a loner too, despite the girls fawning over him. Isaac's like a lost puppy sometimes, and Cora would've been perfectly happy ignoring him. But there were only so many nagging phone calls from her mother that she could take, so Cora dragged his ass to the library (probably for the first time in his life). They tend to spend their time doing homework (more accurately, Cora helping Isaac. He's not dumb, just unfocused. Which gets really frustrating, if she's being honest, but the kid's not all bad), and Cora rolls her eyes when he complains about being stuck at Stanford. His dad was the only reason he attended the school, (being a coach and all), and despite how it had turned out, he wasn't going back to Beacon Hills. He loved Palo Alto far too much to go anyplace else. The trio becomes a foursome as September becomes October.

Cora tears another month off the calendar before darting out the door to math, which has admittedly gotten better—once they actually got past the professor's ramblings, and started doing actual math. Still, she would never call it fun. Not like Anthropology 101. Especially not with….damn, she always forgets his name. It's stupid too—Spike or Stein or something. Either way, he's an annoying twerp.

Ever since the first day he's gone out of his way to annoy her, always tapping his pencil when he knows she's trying to concentrate. And the McCall kid he's always with (See? _Normal_ name.) always tries to cover up his laughter, always failing. So, she did the mature thing. After threatening to chop his goods off several times, she moved seats.

It worked at first, and his expression when he realized she wasn't there was _priceless_. But then he just sat behind her wherever she went, much to the amusement of her classmates (she glared, they shut up). Honestly, Cora was too afraid to sit in the back row. God forbid he try to sit _next_ to her. She ended up settling in the middle, and the pair sat behind her.

But that was last month. Cora figured he'd have to get tired of it eventually.

She was wrong.

October brings music. Weird indie crap, classic rock, sometimes even classical—you name it, he'll play it. Quietly, though, so that she's the only one that can hear. Everyone else learned by the end of the first week to stay far away from him. The first time she confronted him about it, he told her she was hearing things with a smirk and a twinkle in his eye. The second time, he told her she must have wolf hearing. The third, he ended up with a bruise from the eraser she threw, but the message was still not received.

Cora gave up on reforming him.

Classes went on, and the workload steadily became more intense. Harassing the food trucks gradually shifted to coffee binges and all-nighters. A six-pack in her fridge remained untouched, while her notebooks got overworked.

Erica decided she needed a break, and drags Cora out to a (slightly seedy) bar. Boyd joins them, his eyes always warily watching Erica, who looks like she's already had a drink or two. Isaac shows up a half hour later, but spends most of his time there flirting with a blonde waitress. He leaves (the waitress following) within the hour. While Erica falls on her ass during drunken karaoke, Cora ends up hustling a stoic pair of twins in poker, who don't react to losing very well. Insults are hurled, lines are crossed, and before she knows it one of the twins is flying at her. He receives a nice right hook, but Boyd yanks her out of the bar before any more punches are thrown. She punches him, too, but in the arm and not nearly as hard as she did the other guy. She's not some damsel in distress. She doesn't need someone on her back.

And with October comes, of course, Halloween. The pranks started early, about a week before the actual night. She found the toilet paper strung around her dormitory annoying, but the Jack-O-Lantern painted on the back of her unknowing, bald math teacher's head was priceless.

And Halloween, of course, comes Halloween parties. Which there was no way she was going to go to, despite all of Erica's pleading. She didn't do large groups of stupid people, and the only drunks she cared to be around were her friends. Cora Hale didn't intend on mingling with the frat boys, and she certainly wasn't going to dress up in heels she couldn't even walk in. So, she forced Isaac to stay in with her (ignoring his complaints about not being able to pick up girls) and ate far too much candy, and maybe had a little too much to drink.

In Isaac's drunken rambling, Cora discovered that the kid from math (not McCall, the other one) was on Isaac's floor. It was Halloween, after all, and Cora Hale was never one to let an opportunity go to waste. They ended up purchasing a box of itching powder, and sneaking into the kid's room to use it. So it wasn't the best prank, and it wasn't original—but it was sure as hell going to be funny. By the time they make it back to Cora's room, their eyelids are dropping, and fall asleep to the opening credits of the Shining.

The morning of November first, Cora wakes up to the sound of Isaac's snoring, and wonders how she ever managed to sleep through it. She goes out and grabs coffee from the diner, and the boy immediately wakes up to the smell of caffeine. One glance at the clock is all it takes to shove Isaac out (warning him not to mention anything about them "sleeping together"), and Cora scrambles to grab her books, and attempts to find a clean pair of jeans (she ends up settling for a pair of Derek's sweats). By the time she makes it to math, she's late, and Stiles (_that's_ it) is snickering. It's not long before she hears the snapping of gum, and doesn't even bother turning around. It would only encourage him, and he looked like he was itching to get a rise out of her.

Her eyes widen (though in humor, not in guilt), at the memory of last night's drunken escapades. Cora whips around to see a smirking, gum-snapping Stiles, and a very uncomfortable-looking McCall. Realization dawns like a slap on the face. Stiles winks at her, and Cora gives him the middle finger. She resolves not to tell Isaac, who probably doesn't even remember it anyways.

Isaac asks her out on a date. She scoffs at first, because he's _Isaac_ and she's _Cora_. But Erica eventually convinces her to go, and the Chinese really isn't that bed. One thing leads to another though, and she ends up in his bed. The next morning she tells him it won't work. It wasn't bad, she just can't do a serious attachment—it's frankly unnecessary, and for all the fun she has, school is her first priority. So they end up as friends with benefits: no emotions, no attachment, no distraction. He still hits on blondes, and she still spends too much time studying. It's a good arrangement.

The next two weeks were a flurry of reading and tests, as each professor felt the need to cram information in before Thanksgiving. Flashcards become her new best friend, and she ends up spending more time in the library than ever. She dreads the upcoming month for the exams that it holds. Cora starts to take more detailed notes, and spends time reviewing her coursework every night. It's worth it though, when she receives high scores on her work. The "100" she gets on the latest math test is enough to throw Stiles off from his gum snapping for the rest of class. By now she's figured out it's a monthly thing, but there he was going to run out of ideas pretty damn fast. He asks if she would consider tutoring, and she asks if he would consider jumping off of a bridge. After a minute of staring, McCall declares them to have reached an impasse, Stiles declares him an idiot and Cora turns back around as the professor declares the Second Fundamental Theorem of Calculus to be prominent in their exam.

Thanksgiving is, in a word, unusual. Their family is chaotic, and so is the meal. Food is flung, insults are sent, but laughter is present the whole time. Laura is still in London, as the head of PR for some firm, but she'll be home for Christmas. Derek doesn't glare, a miracle in itself, and Cora laughs along with her crazy Uncle Peter, who ends up losing the wishbone to Derek. Her mom makes them say grace and clean up, but not before interviewing Peter on his lackluster love life, and the whole family laughs at the red that blossomed over his face. It reminds Cora of Laura always teasing Derek, and she realizes how much she missed her older sister.

Cora and Peter end up sneaking downstairs at midnight to steal the sandwiches Derek made for the next day, which were really quite good. Paige must've been giving him cooking lessons or something. They contemplate making him new sandwiches, but the call of sleep beckons, and she's woken up the next morning to a fuming Derek. The look on his face was worth the promise of revenge.

On December 1st Paige joins them on the way back down, and Derek immediately lightens up (his promise of revenge is forgotten). There's still no ring on her finger, but she secretly makes a bet with Peter that it'll be there by Christmas. Her mom refuses to join in, but Paige is already part of the family anyway, has been for years. Being married isn't going to change much.

They listen to classic rock and grab cheeseburgers and sing too loudly and too off-key, and Cora forgets the impending doom of forgotten schoolwork for a bit.

Monday returns, along with its early morning math class, and a new method of torture. Stiles decided that playing with her hair would be fun, and that was something she wasn't ever going to allow. After throwing her hair up and sending him her signature glare, she cornered him after class and threatened to cut his hand off. When he doesn't stop the next day, she makes sure to put the itching powder in the right set of drawers. The hair-pulling stopped, albeit with a promise to continue after exams.

In just a few days bags settle in under her eyes and coffee begins to lose its effect. The workload is piled high, and she barely has any time to review at night. The cold is sinking in, making it harder and harder to leave her bed each morning. Even easy-going Erica looks worried, and Cora sees Boyd and Isaac less and less (and Isaac starts to complain. She reminds him they're not in a relationship.). She starts to wonder (at three in the morning) why she's even doing this. She's smart, yes, but Cora Hale has never been one to resist a challenge, even one she had no reason to do. She's pushed and pushed her whole life, never backing down. Cora forces herself to take another sip of the now-cold coffee, and stares at her notes once again.

The next day, Isaac starts asking her about what she wants for Christmas. When she says no, he says he's had enough. He wants more than she's ready to give, and she tells him that. They end their arrangement, and she feels just a little bit guilty. Hurting him had never been the intention, but it was the result. Cora doesn't see him again until after break. She pushes herself back into studying, and ends up pulling three all-nighters in a week.

The first exam comes and goes, and by the last, Cora's almost given up caring. There's nothing she can do about it, not now. Late-night cramming won't help anything, and coffee has done all it can. She enters the exams with a harsh expression, and comes out looking increasingly wearier after each one.

The last exam is, of course, math. It's the one she's been dreading the most. History came to her easily—she loved learning about cultures and how they interacted, and had no problem remembering dates. English was a breeze, and although Greek was hard, it was fun. Math was sent from the devil himself, and was definitely the exam she had prepared the most for. She had exactly _one_ positive thing to say: since they have to sit in alphabetical order, she's been away from Stiles for the first time in math all year. It's refreshing, but feels kind of suspicious. She kept waiting for something, for him to try and be a pain in the ass again. But she hands in her packet of integrals in a silent room.

Derek and Paige pick her up the next day, and she collapses the minute she steps in the car, sleeping the whole trip back to Beacon Hills. She doesn't even notice the ring until they get home, and by then all Cora wants to do is get in her bed. There's a mixture of yawning and hugging, and Derek hauls her over his shoulder and drops her on her bed. His voice is as monotone as ever as he tells her to go to bed, and she's pretty sure there's something about a tree mixed in there.

They do, in fact, get a tree the next day, and Derek calls her a lumberjack as she drags the thing along (she doesn't see _his_ sorry ass doing anything) for wearing flannel. It's an old joke, but he gets whacked in the arm and stuck with the tree nonetheless. There's actually a little snow on the ground, and they and up having a snowball fight in the backyard. It's everyone against Peter, and it doesn't take long for her parents to join in. They all end up sprawled on the ground, making half-assed snow angels, and complaining about their wet pants.

They make cookies, enough to feed a small country, and her mom makes comments about her and Derek not having any Christmas spirit. Apparently preferring to eat cookies instead of decorating them gets you coal. Laura finally comes home, bringing with her a newfound tea obsession. She teaches them how to make Christmas food from around Europe and bosses people around and comments on her flannel but Cora's glad she's there nonetheless. And not just for the food.

She gets more gifts than she needs (or has room for), including more flannel from Paige, much to everyone's amusement. The couple finally makes the announcement, even though everyone already knew. The family congratulates them, laughing as Derek crosses his arms, silently telling them that there will not be hugging, and soon comments about the future are stemming from the parentals. The red that covers their faces sends everyone howling with laughter.

She spends New Year's Eve with her family, watching the show in Times Square and sipping on champagne. Everyone has had a bit too much (especially Derek and Paige, who have now occupied a corner of the living room), and she can hear people opening crackers somewhere in the house. It's extremely noisy, but in the end, she wouldn't trade this for the world. After attending boarding school since age eight, she's no stranger to being on her own, and something she actually preferred. But these happy times reminded her of why she kept coming back.

January 1st comes in with a bang, literally. It turned out Peter had been saving some illegal fireworks since the fourth of July and lit them outside, resulting in a couple trees catching on fire and the Sheriff turning up. He gives her a strange look when she gives him her name. She's not sure why; she went to boarding school, so no high school shenanigans that could've pissed him off. A call stops him from saying anything else. The Sheriff rolled his eyes at the speaker, and left with only a warning for Peter. The party takes on a sour mood after that, and ends with her mother chastising Peter for almost lighting the house on fire. All in all, it was a very Hale new year.

The rest of her break is spent watching marathons on the TV, hitting the local diner, and working out. She hadn't had enough time to exercise in a while, and she was definitely giving the punching bags a good workout. Derek likes to join her for morning runs, and they race against each other, darting through the forest like they did as kids. It's liberating; being away from all responsibility, and just being able to run free. The hot chocolate her mom makes after makes Cora melt a bit inside.

The break passed far too quickly, and she heads back to Stanford in Derek's car with one more duffel bag than she arrived with. She meets up with her friends at a diner: Erica hugs her a bit too tightly, Boyd is still kind of silent, and Isaac is still wearing his awful sweaters, but she loves them all in a way. Isaac is friendly again, and Cora is glad she never told Erica and Boyd. If anything, _they_ would've made it awkward. It's a good (if greasy) meal, and they laugh until their stomachs hurt. Cora's struck by the similarity to her own family, and realizes she wouldn't trade them either.

New semester meant new classes, which meant new people. Primarily, no annoying assholes to sit behind her. Her first class of the day on Monday was now European History, a very welcomed change. The subject fascinated her, enough to make her _want_ to get out of bed on a cold winter morning. Erica has this class with her, too, although her roommate was significantly less excited about it.

Cora slid into a seat and waited for her roommate, realizing she was A) probably with Boyd, and B) not going to show up after the fifth unanswered call. She was about to press the redial button when a pale brunette with a bright smile dropped into the seat next to her. Cora wasted no time at all in giving her a glare that hopefully said 'fuck off', but the stranger was undeterred. Cora's not good with strangers (it was a wonder, really, that she warmed up to Boyd and Erica so quickly), and she certainly doesn't see the need to sit next to someone when there's dozens of empty seats.

Naturally, she crossed her arms and stared at the front, perfectly willing to ignore the girl after glaring proved unsuccessful. But instead she introduced herself as Allison, and with the patience of an angel, Allison struck up a conversation. After several minutes, they found they had a shared interest in hunting. Allison's dad ran a consulting business for it, and the pair ended up getting coffee after class. Allison is sweet (maybe too sweet), but she's got a wicked sense of humor, and Cora can't just ignore someone with an extensive knowledge of international fighting styles. Cora decided she liked the girl, even if she was a bit too friendly, and too head-over-heels for her boyfriend (some fellow freshman named Scott), who she scampered off to after coffee to meet.

Her next class was Lit. It was boring, but predictable and easy, and didn't give too much homework. She stared at the ceiling, waiting for the professor when a high pitched noise caught her attention. For all of Cora Hale's merits, there was one thing she couldn't do—whistle. Her mom had a whistle that could make the whole house stand still. Years ago, she and Derek had tried to recreate it, and she spectacularly failed whilst Derek had come close. But Derek had found out she couldn't whistle at all, and spent the rest of the summer whistling every song that came on the radio. Years later, she still hates the shrill sound.

And she's about to tell whatever idiot that's doing it exactly where they can put it, but the sight of said idiot's face hardens her glare and stops the words in her mouth. He _would_ be here, sitting behind her, wearing that shit-eating grin. McCall isn't with him this time, and she almost wants to ask where. But that would mean interacting with the subject. A once harmless class quickly turned into her worst nightmare.

Cora spends the rest of the week adjusting to her new classes, rolling her eyes at Erica and Boyd (the pair really needs to spend some time apart), and avoiding being seen with Isaac in public (hey, if he's going to keep wearing the sweaters…). Her family sends her a care package full of cookies and hot chocolate mix, as well as a copy of Derek and Paige's engagement photos. The couple is almost nauseatingly sweet, something she'd never thought would apply to Derek.

Allison makes European History pretty fun, especially when she corrects the professor on weapons used in Medieval France. She's still in love with her boyfriend, and invites Cora several times to come hang out with their group of friends, which she declines. But as January wanes, Cora is finding fewer and fewer excuses, and Allison can't seem to handle the word "no".

Cora heads out to dinner with them February 1st. Well, she goes with Allison, who had a mysterious shit-eating grin on her face. She didn't know the girl could be anything other than angelic—the change wasn't unwelcome, but Cora wished it hadn't been directed at her. They're seated at a slightly sticky booth when Allison's face lights up, and Cora knows immediately that Scott must be here. Sure enough, a familiar man shows up and kisses her cheek, before sliding in next to her. McCall's wearing an identical grin to his girlfriend, and Cora starts to put pieces together. Seconds later, a skinny, pale boy slides next to Scott and wiggles his eyebrows.

Allison claims she didn't know they knew each other, but she's laughing so hard that she's turning red in the face. Suddenly, it all becomes clear.

A cold feeling washed over her. Cora Hale was _not_ someone to be used. She was _not_ a joke. Cora stood up, but a cold hand on her wrist yanked her back down. She didn't know Allison had that kind of grip strength. "Sit down, kid. Don't tell me you're actually afraid of Stilinski here?" When Cora's glare didn't soften, she sighed. "Yeah, they told me about you. But don't get your panties in a twist about it. You're my friend, and if Stiles pulls any of his shit, I'll introduce him to my crossbow," she said, wearing an absolutely angelic look. It was actually kind of scary. When Stiles let out an undignified cry, Allison whacked him on the chest, still smiling. He didn't say much after that.

They order, but Allison was still checking her phone for someone when the food arrived. Halfway through the meal a pretty redhead and a tall, grumpy man walk in (his hair is tousled, and Cora can see a mark on the girl's neck. Everyone else can too, because they all exchange looks). The couple is introduced as Lydia and Jackson, and Cora gets the feeling that Lydia is loved, but Jackson is only tolerated because of his girlfriend. Lydia is, well, bouncy, and immediately starts talking (Cora isn't sure what about), not noticing Cora until Scott coughs. That's when fixes Cora with a piercing look, like she's staring into her soul. After a moment she gives Cora a smile and greets her as Stiles' Cora (he gets another whack from Allison, and the other patrons look over in alarm at his cry). Jackson stares at the table, and no one save Lydia makes any attempt at conversation with him.

Scott and Allison make faces at each other, much like Derek and Paige. She catches Stiles' eye, who's wearing a disgusted face, and assures her that they're always like that. Lydia steals Stiles' fries, eventually ordering her own because of his protests. Jackson eats his burger in silence. They're not so bad, kind of like their own quirky family (apparently Stiles actually calls them 'The Pack'). Dinner ends up being fun, more so than she thought possible. The conversation is easy and the food is decent and really, they aren't as annoying as Stiles. They get into stories about the things they did in high school, and Cora decides she actually likes them. Maybe a little impressed, actually. Who knew dweebs were so good at messing with teachers? Scott and Allison make her promise to come again next week, and Cora says yes.

It becomes a tradition, Friday night dinners at the diner. And it worked out well, since Boyd and Erica really needed a night for their own (Cora was sick and tired of walking in on them). Isaac was always busy on Friday nights now anyways, and Cora reluctantly admitted that she could use some time away from studying.

Surprisingly, she's fallen into a strange sort of routine. She drinks coffee with Allison between classes (Sometimes joined by Lydia, who Cora barely tolerates. They're complete opposites, really.), watches American Horror Story with Erica, amd still spends a lot of time in the library, although she usually ends up being pulled out, often by Isaac. It's like nothing ever happened between them, and for that she's grateful (and tries to set him up with a girl in her Anthro class). Stiles is still an annoying asswipe, but she's gotten better at ignoring him in class.

Then February 14th comes around, and Cora hates the world again. Not because she's single, not because she hates love. She can't stand how asinine people got over the day. She hated the mushy couples (ex 1: Allison and Scott), the pink and red everywhere, and her friends' annoying habits of asking her if she's got a valentine. She's used to hating the day and waiting for it to be over with. But this year, Stiles decided to get her involved in the festivities. She's gotten to know him a bit better, through mutual bonding over their disgust of Allison and Scott's PDA at dinner, and their mutual appreciation of Star Wars. But he's still a little shit.

She walks out of her class that morning to be hit in the face with a blast of confetti. It's everywhere, on her clothes, her hair, her eyes. A familiar snicker tells her exactly who the culprit is. Sure enough, she looked up to see Stiles standing on a table, holding an ancient boom box and wearing a cocky grin. Then the music starts, and he starts singing. Within a matter of seconds he's pushed off the table and on the ground, moaning about his bruised behind.

She sees the clip on YouTube the next day.

The fuss dies down after a few days, but he whistles love songs to her for the rest of the month.

The cold starts to recede, taking February with it. In comes March, with the promise of Spring in the form of nonstop rain. She and Allison run into the diner one Friday night, completely soaked but still laughing. The smile drops at Stiles' wolf whistle. Friday night dinners are still routine, but Stiles chooses to sit next to her now. He claims it's to get away from all the "couple madness". He's surprisingly normal outside of class, where he now insists on texting her the whole time (Allison gave him her number. The traitor.). He's still infuriating, but they manage to have a couple decent conversations. She still hasn't strangled him.

Spring is supposed to bring new beginnings and all that crap. Cora doesn't have much hope, especially when she gets caught in another downpour.

By March, Lydia and Jackson have broken up for what is apparently the third time. She only knows this because a distraught Lydia showed up at her door (Cora wasn't sure how Lydia knew she lived there) with a demand for chocolate and a list of complaints about men. Allison runs in a second later, obviously having tried to chase down her best friend. Cora isn't sure why Lydia's here—they don't get along, and there's a lot of things she's rather be doing. Like the homework Lydia's currently sitting on. But Allison whispers something about friendship and before she can comprehend it Cora's made tea and they're all perched on her bed. Honestly, Cora doesn't understand Lydia and Jackson's relationship—she's never seen Jackson show an ounce of emotion. But Lydia insists something is there, despite the fact that he's an asshole. So Cora deals. Except this time it's different. Jackson's been using, and Lydia confronted him about it, saying she didn't want him to be messed up with that. Allison rubs Lydia's back and Cora awkwardly offers more tea, not sure what to do. She figured telling Lydia they were probably better off separate won't help anything. Erica stumbles in the room, bringing Boyd and Isaac, and they almost laugh at the sight of Cora helping someone with a break up, but are silenced by both Allison and Cora's glares. Seizing the opportunity of an attractive girl, Isaac attempts to hit on Allison, which doesn't end well (for him), and Cora decides he should meet Scott.

Lydia and Jackson get back together the next week, and he promises to quit. Cora rolled her eyes at the news and stocked up on chocolate in preparation for the next inevitable breakup.

By the second week of March, Cora has started to respond to Stiles' texts. The teacher was even boring herself, and Cora figured he couldn't possible get more annoying. The first time she replied she could practically feel his smile. There was no need to look around and check. It was a way to pass the time, after all.

Saint Patrick's day comes and goes in a surprising lack of partying. She had a big Lit test the next morning, and Stiles of all people had decided to study with her (Allison told him about her spot in the library, there was no avoiding him now). He was actually pretty smart, even if he was a sarcastic wiseass who couldn't resist making a stupid comment. It wasn't the worst thing that could've possibly happened (she suspected Scott talked to him about his behavior first).

Scott and Allison are hung over the next morning, and Stiles sends her a picture of the couple covered in green and glitter, and sleeping on Scott's bed. It's equal parts adorable and hilarious, though she tells Allison it's just the latter.

She aces the Lit test.

Erica decides she wants to celebrate (over what is anyone's guess), and pulls Cora out to listen to classic rock and drink out on the roof. Boyd isn't with them this time, making the scene a bit lonely, until Erica fills it with her words. They throw confetti at the people below, make fun of the frat boys, and shout "slut" when Isaac passes by the building, shirt buttoned up wrong and hair disheveled. It's a perfect March night, until the heavens open up on them.

Cora stays at Stanford for Easter, because there's no point in going home with spring break just around the corner. Besides, she's got work to do, tests to study for, Chinese food to eat. She didn't have time to leave. Stiles wakes her up Easter morning with a knock, leaving a basket of candy outside her door. He claims it was the Easter bunny, but Scott is more than willing to tell her the truth, and show her pictures of a younger Stiles with a set of rabbit ears. She finds the candy kind of sweet (no pun intended), but it still doesn't stop her from calling him a little shit when Allison makes them all go out for breakfast at the Waffle House.

March is spent getting soaked, and being a little sweet. It's finally calm at school, and Cora's not ashamed to say she found her own little family (not that she'd say it to them). March meant getting closer to people, having fun, and shoving too many toppings on her waffles. It's not so much the beginning on brand new things. Just the improving of the stuff she has.

The rain starts to calm as April makes its way in. Which is pretty great, because it's almost Spring Break. With just a week left, Cora made it her mission to finish all her work early so she could be free all break. This was no easy task, and one that Allison and Erica claim will destroy her. Lydia takes one look at her face and asks if she's heard of sleep.

Isaac hits it off with Scott at the Waffle House, and the pair found amusement in calling her Casper because of her new complexion. Cora doesn't see the big deal—her bags aren't _that_ big, and she didn't punch them _that _hard.

It's two in the morning, two days until break, when Stiles finally pulls her out of the library. He's stronger that his gangly limbs look (but it might just be her lack of energy), as he ignores her protests forces her to come with him (he practically carried her) to Taco Bell. The food looks gross and feels too squishy, but it's two in the morning and she's tired as hell so she eats it and laughs at the cheese sauce on his face. He walks her back to the dorm, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning like an idiot.

The whole thing feels a little too much like a first date (this coming from her overworked, sleep-deprived mind), so she called him a little shit, just to remind him. But she was kind of laughing as she said it and one of his arms is around her waist even though she isn't sure how it got there and his grin is far too big and they both know it's really not an insult.

Erica, thank the sweet lord, doesn't say anything about it until morning (which comes far too early and far too brightly). She goes to class, takes sloppy notes, and drinks too much coffee. Stiles decides his new favorite method to get her attention (Because that's what he's doing, isn't it? She's not sure when that became clear, but now it is, and the only mystery left is why. She chalks it up to him being, well, _him_.) is eating. It's not bad at first, not like the whistling, but the crunching is accompanied by the smell of chips, and she ends up stealing his bag. Luckily for him, there's only one more class. She reminds him to bring snacks to share next time.

The group practically sprints out of the campus the moment class ends on Friday. All except for Cora, who's being dragged by the arm by Stilinski. Apparently he had grown immune to her punches. He practically shoves her into his Jeep, but she really can't complain-it's better than being stuck with Allison and Scott, who are sure to make the trip more than awkward. Lydia and Jackson went up the day before to spend some "alone time" together. Cora's complain, but it's Lydia's (parents') beach house they're staying at after all.

Spring Break wasn't like MTV, but it definitely wasn't bad. They partied too hard at the beach the first few days, the sand and music and ocean everywhere, and it was definitely one hell of a party. Definitely worth the massive hangover the next day, but by the fourth day, Cora was burnt out. She was an introvert by nature, and there was only so much she could handle. She stayed in the house the next night, curled up on the sofa with the remote in one hand and a beer in another. She could still hear cheering and the thumping of the bass, but the relative silence was pretty relaxing. Her Star Wars marathon was interrupted by the arrival of her favorite little shit, who apparently decided he wanted to stay in too. They ended up falling asleep on the sofa, the moment documented in photos by their drunk friends. Cora pretends it didn't happen, and thank god, so did he.

But they ended up spending the rest of break together. They mostly hang around inside and watch old movies, talking about anything and everything, eating too many nachos and too much ice cream. It's fun, in their own kind of way. The rest of the group doesn't really understand, but they all stay in and watch old nineties movies their last night at the beach house. Lydia makes them promise to come back over the summer, and Cora actually agrees, although only after Stiles has.

She realizes one night, while they were eating ice cream sundaes at midnight that he's actually kind of cute, and he tries to shove more sprinkles onto the precarious structure. There's whipped cream in his hair and a goofy smile on his face, but it still makes her stomach churn. And the look he gives her when he catches her staring makes her think she's not alone. But it's new and makes her feel weird, and she shoves the feelings down as she adds another layer of hot fudge sauce.

The drive back to campus is much like the first, except with more inside jokes and a sense of ease.

She isn't surprised when he shows up at her dorm room when they get back with a bag of popcorn and all of the Rocky movies.

It becomes a regular occurrence, as a way to forget the upcoming finals. May is nothing if not stressful, but Cora's not ready for the year to be over. She likes the life she has here. Sure, her family back home is wonderful, but college is pretty great too. Despite all of the schoolwork, which she throws herself into. For some reason, her studying for exams is a lot harder this time around. Maybe she's a little burnt out, maybe it's because she's got close friends now that keep dragging her away. She's not really complaining, either way.

Exactly two and a half weeks before exams, Cora feels a sharp pain in her side. She brushed it off at first, blaming it on the stress and her noodle habit. But it hadn't gone away two days later, and was getting worse. She tried to ignore it, taking Advil and forcing herself to study. It's not easy, but she doesn't have time to focus on the alternative. Cora's wrapped up in a blanket, reading about the Plantagenets, when Stiles calls and asks her to come help study. She really didn't feel like leaving her bed, but she gave in to his pleading anyways, only because he wouldn't stop until she agreed.

The pain flooding her side on her way to his dorm lets her know she really shouldn't have left. But Stiles greets her with a grin and popcorn, pulling her down on his bed and thrusting a book on her lap. As usual, he's talking away, and she's mastered the art of nodding at this point. She can't think though, the pain is worse now, her head is spinning, and she was starting to get lightheaded. Cora pushed herself off the bed, ignoring Stiles, and made for the door. She didn't get further than a step, as her vision faded to black and she felt herself falling.

Cora Hale woke up to a beeping noise and a blinding white. Hospitals were easy to recognize and always somewhere she didn't want to be. She tried to sit up, but a large bandage and searing pain on her right side stopped her. A warm arm gently pushed her back down, and she looked up to see Derek's concerned face and her family behind him.

He explains what happened to her, in slow words meant for a toddler, but she didn't have the energy to give a retort. Apparently getting your appendix out will do that to you.

The next two days were spent alternating between sleep and morphine, her family and her friends. They came to visit, leaving chocolate and cards (which she suspected Allison forced them to do). She hates the pity, really—it's bad enough from Derek—but it's sweet. Sort of.

But it's not fun. The bed is restricting and the doctors told her she'd need to stay for at least another week. The hospital food is gross, she looks like crap, and her side hurts like hell. Exams are less than two weeks away, and the painkillers are making it extremely difficult to study. She's managed to email her professors and get some notes from Allison, but it's not the same, and it's pissing her off.

The last person to visit her is Stiles. She's a bit disappointed, and angry because she's disappointed. But she puts that away in favor of asking him for food, to which he obliges. Jell-O and broth will never top a good 'ol burger.

He keeps rubbing neck and won't look her in the eye, but he tells her what's happening, how Allison and Scott are looking at a place to stay at next year, and Lydia and Jackson broke up (and got back together), and that Isaac accidentally flirted with some teacher. She tries to pay attention, but the morphine kicks in soon after he arrives. He starts to talk about random things, like the latest Star Trek, and his favorite but she's starting to fall asleep. She thinks she hears something about his dad and Beacon Hills, but at that point she's too out of it.

Cora woke up several hours later, still stuck in dreamland and not sure what woke her. She settled back into her pillow, letting the voice reading what sounded like her notes lull her back to sleep.

Cora was released a day early, much to her family's chagrin. They wanted her to stay longer, but she had to get her life back. She was done being docile.

Allison threw a mini "welcome back" party for her, up on the roof top. It was really just them eating burgers and throwing confetti, but fun nonetheless. Scott and Allison make out under the stars and Lydia blasts music and Boyd and Erica are laughing at something and Isaac's popping open a bottle of champagne. The only thing off is Stiles, who hasn't said a word to her all night.

In true Cora fashion, she confronts him with a punch, smirking at his yelp. They leaned against the railing, and he stared at the stars, while she gave him a look. After he refused to talk, she gave him another punch. He rubbed his arm and muttered something about 'crazy woman', but he was looking at her now, and for once, she had no idea what was really going on through his mind. So she asks him, and his reply came with a sad look that was so uncharacteristic, she just wanted to wipe it off his face.

"You almost died, Cora."

It's the first time anyone's said that yet, and a fact she hasn't fully grasped. Dying wasn't something she thought about often, it was something she preferred to think wouldn't happen. Worrying and feeling sorry for herself wasn't her thing.

But this? She didn't think he'd get so worked up about it. She didn't think it was going to bother him like that. Worried, maybe. But he looked down right scared.

"Stiles. I'm all right." He looks like he might break (even though she's the broken one), and she lets him hug her impossibly tight, like he's afraid he's going to lose her. She hugs him back, taking in the warmth and the care from someone. The party's gone silent in the back, but she doesn't really care. They pull apart eventually, and he keeps an arm around her shoulders as they stare up at the stars.

They're grabbing lunch the next day when he asks what she's planning to do during the summer. She hadn't really given it much thought—between exams and the appendicitis, the thought hadn't crossed her mind. So she tells him nothing, and immediately regrets it after a huge grin spreads over his face. "Then I guess you can spend it with me!" She raises an eyebrow and he quickly backtracks and apologizes for being creepy, but the offer is still there. He looks so hopeful and she hates to break it to him, but she's going back to Beacon Hills for the summer. In the end, that's still her home.

Slowly, she explains that to him, and to her surprise, he starts laughing. Uncontrollable, manic laughter and the people at the next table turn around and stare. He pulls himself together after a minute, writes an address on a piece of paper, and leaves with the excuse of going to his next class. She's not sure what to make of it, but a quick glance at her phone tells her she's already late to her next class. So Cora shoves the paper in her pocket and rushes out the door.

The paper is completely forgotten until laundry day. Cora's emptying her pockets when it falls out, crumpled and slightly smudged. She shoves the rest of the load in the washer, before hopping on top of the machine and pulling out her phone. She rolls her eyes at it, but there's a small smile on her face.

The next time she sees him is at the froyo bar with Scott, and he's shoving way too many sprinkles on top of his yogurt. She punches him, hard, and Scott laughs and sprinkles fall off and scatter across the floor. "How come you didn't tell me you live five minutes away?"

Scott guffaws, before dumping an insane amount of chocolate on his yogurt. "You mean you really didn't know?" She punches him, too, and finds out he's just a couple blocks away. Turns out there are disadvantages to boarding school, like not knowing the people who live around you.

Stiles asks if she'll take him up on his offer, and she flips him off as she leaves the froyo bar.

Exams come before she's ready, but they pass before she really has time to focus. She hasn't done as well as she liked. She knew this even before getting the scores. But she can't really help it, and she didn't do poorly enough to fail. Besides, she doesn't really care. She finally made it through her first year of college. It's a _celebration_, not a time of remorse.

She's dragged along to one of the frat parties by Allison. It's too loud and too stuffy and somebody just spilled a drink on her, but she really doesn't care. Part of it's the booze, but it's mostly just a sense of accomplishment.

So she takes it for granted—has a little too much to drink, a little too much fun. Cora's not a lightweight, not by a long shot, but she's letting herself go tonight. When Stiles joins them dancing, she doesn't complain, just pulls him closer. They're both too far gone to realize what's happening, or what the consequences are. They're young and dumb and _why the hell not, _says her intoxicated self.

Cora Hale wakes up at six the next morning, naked, and wrapped in a tight embrace by a too pale, too freckled, too familiar boy. Her head is pounding and her mouth is dry and last night hits her like a slap in the face. Slowly, she pulls herself out of his arms, pulls on her clothes, and leaves. The sun's shining too brightly on the way back to her dorm, and the birds are too loud. As soon as she gets back she makes a cup of tea and tries to forget the mistake she just made.

She was _Cora_, and he was _Stiles_. It was never supposed to happen. She would be fine just brushing it off, but he was going to make a big deal about it, and it would be awkward and she'd lose him. It occurred to her at that moment just how much she valued him. He had become a staple in her life, and Cora was very protective of her things.

And that's what he was, right? He was hers. She wasn't sure when it happened, but he was. They had become their own sort of pair, and she wasn't ready to give that up yet. Because really, it was all on her.

Cora Hale knew that she had feelings for this boy, and that things weren't going to be the same between them again. She fell back asleep in her dorm room, into a restless sleep that left her feeling empty.

She woke up to a shrill sound, and reluctantly picked up the phone, automatically wincing at the hysteria coming from the other end. It turned out she wasn't the only one dealing with the consequences from the previous night.

She met Allison and Lydia at the hospital, holding a large bar of chocolate. The ginger took it gratefully, taking bites in between the tale of Jackson's overdose. He was going to be okay, but he was being sent to London to stay with his aunt and uncle while in rehab. Cora wasn't sure what Lydia was more upset about: Jackson's stupidity, or the fact that he was going away. Either way, the girl was wrecked, clinging tightly on to what seemed to be the key to Jackson's place.

The next day was a somber one. Packing up was never fun, but the unease that seemed to settle around everyone made it difficult. Erica broke the news of getting an apartment with Boyd, as if it wasn't obvious already. But she was still out of a roommate, and Erica's guilt was stifling to be around. Isaac wasn't anywhere to be found, and Lydia was still at the hospital. Scott and Allison were off somewhere together, and Stiles was off limits. She didn't know what to say to him, and honestly was afraid of what he would say. The realization that she had no one else to talk to was unsettling.

Cora ended up at the gym, beating the crap out of some punching bags, relishing in the burn of her muscles and soreness in her hands. It always felt good, letting everything out and just being able to think, but her phone brought her out of her thoughts. There was just one text, and she knew who it was from before she even read it.

Sure enough, it was Stiles, asking what time she wanted to head back to Beacon Hills the next day. In all the confusion, she had completely forgotten she agreed to let him take her home, much to Derek's chagrin. The man was knee-deep in wedding preparations, and always eager for an excuse to get out. But there was no way she could turn Stiles down, not without making things worse. She replied with a curt answer and prepared for an awkward ride.

And sure enough, it was. After the tears had been shed, and the goodbyes had been said, Cora loaded her stuff into the back of his Jeep and hopped in, all without either of them saying a word. For the first hour neither of them said anything and the wind and AC/DC were the only sounds. Then suddenly he pulled over, on the middle of a deserted and dusty road.

She looked over and quirked an eyebrow. They weren't low on fuel, there were no popped tires, and she was certain he knew the way back. "You going to go all serial killer on me?" A flash of a smile crossed his face, before it was replaced with a more serious expression.

"Will you just get out of the car for a minute?" When she crossed her arms and raised her other eyebrow, he asked again. Seeing as he wasn't going to give up, she obliged. They walked to the front of the car, and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I'm not sure how to say this. Well I am, I mean I practiced it in front of the mirror three times, but I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. See? I'm already messing up. None of this was in the script." His face is red and she can barely understand what he's saying, and it's all she can do not to laugh. "Look, I like you—don't say it, just let me get this out. I like you, and I know you probably know it, and I know you regret last night. It's all out there now! Just please, don't stop our friend—"

That's when she kisses him. Hard, and his back hits the Jeep, and suddenly his hands all over her body, hot and burning. The sun is already beating down on them, but it's him that's making her sweat, her skin crawl, and he kisses in just the right spot and it's all she can do not to moan.

A loud honk from a passing car breaks them up, laughing and smiling awkwardly.

The rest of the trip home isn't so bad.

Summer passes in a flurry of fireworks and stolen kisses and movie marathons. She sees every movie in the theaters with Stiles, and watches Harry Potter far too many times. Cora spends most of her time at his house, since a barbeque fire burned a hole in the side of the house, and the construction workers bother her. Derek and Paige are married on the Fourth of July, under an explosion of fireworks that miraculously don't bring out the cops. The Sherriff's son, however, is her wedding date. She doesn't spend enough time reading by the pool, and she spends too much time running through the forest. Allison comes up a few times to visit Scott, and the shooting range has never been so fun. Laura takes her to visit South America for two weeks in August, and she comes back with a deep tan and an itch to travel.

Summer passes far too quickly for her liking, and it's not long before she ends up back in school, eagerly waiting for class to start.

Her professor is late, and tardiness has always irritated her. Her phone flashes with a text, but she shoves it down into her bag. Finally he arrives, looking flustered and with a huge pool of sweat on his back. It's disgusting, and she forces herself to look at anything but him. Less than five minutes later, the tapping starts. It's quiet at first, but it grows louder and more irritating by the second. She rolls her eyes, class has only just started.

Her phone vibrates, and she kicks it away. And then it vibrates again, while the tapping is still going, and rapidly fraying her nerves. She turns off her phone and slams it on her desk, startling a few of the nearby students. There's still tapping.

She turns around, prepares to tell whoever it was exactly where they can put their tapping, but his identity makes her falter. Stiles seizes the opportunity, jumping up to steal a kiss, and sitting back down with a smirk. "You should probably turn around. Otherwise you'll miss the whole lesson." He's too far away to punch without getting up, so she settles for reminding him what he'll be missing out on later. Mercifully, the tapping stops.

And the year begins.


End file.
